Congress Caves to Big Banks

UPDATE: May 23, 2018

Three Illinois Congressional Democrats, Bill Foster, Brad Schneider, and Danny Davis, joined all seven Illinois Congressional Republicans in voting for S. 2155. The White House issued a statement on May 21 in support of the bill.

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Congress Caves to Big Banks

Bank Lobbyist Act Passes House, Rolls Back Economic Safeguards

A bill (S. 2155), derided as the Bank Lobbyist Act, which would rollback economic safeguards designed to help prevent the financial collapse that led to the Great Recession of 2008, was passed today by the U.S. House on vote of 258 to 159 with bipartisan support from 33 Democrats and 225 Republicans. The bill passed the Senate on March 14, 2018. The bill now goes to the President’s desk for his signature. He is expected to sign it.

“The banks don’t need help from the government, but Congress has decided to give it to them anyway,” said Brent Adams, Senior Vice President of Policy and Communication for Woodstock Institute. Adams pointed to research showing that banks as a whole, including community banks, have been doing well since 2010 when Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, which was designed to prevent another financial crisis like the one that led to the Great Recession of 2008. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released its Quarterly Bulletin today showing increased net income for the industry, including community banks.

Among the major parts of the Bank Lobbyist Act that are problematic for Woodstock and other consumer groups:

Eliminates most of the requirements for special post-crisis risk controls at banks from $50 billion to $250 billion in size.

Exempts over 85 percent of depository institutions from full reporting of loan data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). HMDA is critical to uncovering discrimination lending practices.

Creates a new exemption from key mortgage lending protections for sales of manufactured homes. This exemption would make it easier for sellers of manufactured homes to steer customers into overpriced loans.